The Story
Okay, first off I can’t even believe that anyone is taking the time to read this, and second, I can’t believe I am taking the time to write it.
But I have to admit that people do ask me every now and again “why Jack Pine Web Design?”
So Here it is:
My dad, who has long since left this world (for hopefully a far better one), used to lovingly (and often not so lovingly) refer to his brood of five as Jack Pine savages. What my dad didn’t realize was that term would come to be one of endearment for me. I also think that he didn’t realize that the Jack Pine is a tree that can survive in the toughest terrain. Often, where nothing else grows a Jack Pine tree will thrive. Yep, that’d be me. Fitting ain’t it? (besides my other nickname would have NEVER worked… Fritz Multi-media & Web Design just don’t sound as nice.)
So how’d I get to be here?
Yeah, if you’re still reading this far, then either you’re bored to death and have nothing better to do, like clean the hair out the shower drain or flossing your teeth, or I guess you’re genuinely interested.
In 2003 I was diagnosed with advanced stage cancer at the ripe old age of 39. I was given a 20% chance of surviving five years with treatment, and faced what I thought would be 3 months of chemo and for my hair to fall out. What I wasn’t prepared for was the 18 months of chemo that ensued, most of which made me too sick to get out of bed, and who the hell cared about the hair falling out at that point? Yes I have three children, the youngest of which was twelve at the time.
Still with me on this? Must be. Keep reading….
After 19 surgeries in less than two years, I was given a clean bill of remission, and dubbed healed. One month later I enrolled in college, and here I am today. Designing web sites and helping others to find their way in the World Wide Web.
What you don’t know
What I am not telling you is that in that one day, where my world stood still, I was staring my own mortality square in the kisser. And what I saw, I am ashamed to say, I didn’t like. I decided then that if I ever got to live beyond the chemo, that I was going to live it differently. Its not about the money, the stuff, the fancy anything… its about those you love and those who love you back and the people you touch along the way. Yes, I need to make the bills and keep a roof over my head… but I need to care about the world around me. Its about the world around me and how we are to one another that is so important in our lives.
So, one month after the chemo ended, I enrolled in college, stopped planning to die and started planning to live… and I have embarked on a new chapter and this great new adventure. I have student loans coming out the wazzoo, but I am alive.
In the end, I wouldn’t change a thing… Cancer gave me far more than it ever took. It gave me the courage to live… and is there anything else after that? Not really, other than looking at the world through different eyes than I did before. Life is truly good, people.
